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Petzl Tikka Review

A good light but outperformed by the Petzl Tikkina, which costs less, unless you need red LED light
Petzl Tikka
Photo: Abriah Wofford
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Price:  $30 List | $26.88 at Amazon
Compare prices at 3 resellers
Pros:  Reasonably priced, very easy to use, good battery life, red LED, durable design
Cons:  Below average trail lighting in spot mode, average flood lighting
Manufacturer:   Petzl
By RJ Spurrier ⋅ Senior Review Editor  ⋅  May 28, 2018
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57
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#13 of 27
  • Trail Finding - 35% 5
  • Close Proximity - 20% 4
  • Battery Life - 15% 7
  • Weight - 15% 6
  • Ease of Use - 15% 8

Our Verdict

The Petzl Tikka has a lot of what we feel is most important in a light: a quality design that will last for years, super-easy to use, and lighting power that will meet most people's practical needs. At $30 list, and often available for less online, the Tikka is reasonably priced too. The main problem we have with the Tikka, is not the Tikka itself, but it's little brother, the Petzl Tikkina, which performs better overall for 33% lower price. Unless we needed the red LED light offered in the Tikka, which can help as a great nightlight in the tent for younger kids or for astronomy fans who want to preserve their night sky vision, the Tikka just doesn't justify $10 higher price over the Tikkina, which offers nearly identical performance, and is even easier to use, for less money. And, if even if we did need the red LED, and if weight and packed size were concerns, then the Petzl Zipka selling for the same price, but taking up less room in your pack and weighing 24% less, is a better choice. As a result, the Tikka is a bit wedged in between two lights from the same company, that offer compelling offerings.

Compare to Similar Products

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Petzl Tikka
This Product
Petzl Tikka
Awards  Top Pick Award Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award  
Price $26.88 at Amazon
Compare at 3 sellers		$89.00 at Amazon$50 List$28.00 at Backcountry$28.74 at Amazon
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Pros Reasonably priced, very easy to use, good battery life, red LED, durable designBright wide beam, good battery life, durable design, rechargeableExcellent trail finding and close proximity beam, waterproof, above average battery lifeExcellent spot light capability, wide evenly lit flood beam, above average in most waysExcellent brightness and beam control, often available online at discount
Cons Below average trail lighting in spot mode, average flood lightingExpensive, 18650 Li-ion battery is not included, heavier than averageMore expensive, heavier than average, claimed battery life is very misleadingBelow average battery life, claimed battery life is wildly misleading, single button hard to use, lame waterproofingAverage battery life, heavier and bulkier than most
Bottom Line A quality and easy to use light, but the Petzl Tikkina is a better deal unless you need the red LEDA stunningly bright light that offers impressive battery life. If you can afford it, it won't disappointYou can't go wrong with the Storm, high performance, quality optics, and durable designOffering excellent optics, a bright wide beam, and strong performance for the price, the Spot is one of our favoritesWe used to love the Coast, but competing lights have stepped up, while the HL7 is unchanged
Rating Categories Petzl Tikka Zebralight H600w Mk IV Black Diamond Storm Black Diamond Spot Coast HL7
Trail Finding (35%)
5
9
9
8
8
Close Proximity (20%)
4
7
8
9
7
Battery Life (15%)
7
9
6
4
5
Weight (15%)
6
4
5
6
4
Ease Of Use (15%)
8
9
6
6
8
Specs Petzl Tikka Zebralight H600w... Black Diamond Storm Black Diamond Spot Coast HL7
Measured Beam Distance 62 m 121 m 91 m 94 m 112 m
Claimed Distance 60 m Not specified 85 m 80 m 119 m
Measured High Mode Run-time (ANSI) 3.9 hrs 3.1 hrs 5 hrs 2.9 hrs 3.1 hrs
Claimed High Mode Run-time 60 hrs 2.9 hrs 40 hrs 30 hrs 1.5 hrs
Measured Low Mode Run-time 225 hrs 232 hrs 42 hrs 9.7 hrs 25 hrs
Claimed Low Mode Run-time 240 hrs 203 hrs 120 hrs 175 hrs 70 hrs
Measured Weight 3 oz, 84 g 4.5 oz, 127 g 4 oz, 112 g 3.1 oz, 89 g 4.5 oz, 127 g
Battery Type 3 AAA 18650 rechargeable Li-ion 4 AAA 3 AAA 3 AAA
Water Resistance IPX4 splash proof IPX8 waterproof to 2 meters, 30 minutes IP67 waterproof to one meter and dustproof Splash proof (dubious IPX8 claim) water resistant
Manuf Claimed Lumens 200 lumens 1400 lumens 350 lumens 300 lumens 285 lumens
Beam Type flood/spot flood flood/spot flood/spot flood/spot
Red Light yes no yes, red/green/blue night-vision modes yes no
On Switch Lock no yes (tailcap lockout) yes yes no

Our Analysis and Test Results

There is so much to love about the Petzl Tikka that we find it regrettable to confess we feel most people should buy one of the sister products, either the Petzl Tikkina that offers similar performance for 33% lower price (but without the red LED), or Petzl Zipka which sells for the same price and offers the exact same lighting features & performance, for 24% lower weight and smaller packed size.

Performance Comparison


Photo: Abriah Wofford

Trail Finding


The trail finding score was OK in general but pretty poor compared to top-performing lights that also list for $30, such as the Black Diamond Spot. But, the Spot is 0.8 ounces heavier (25g) and doesn't pack as small.

A more fair comparison is probably looking at the Zipka versus the Black Diamond Ion, which is similarly small and slightly 0.4 oz lighter than the Zipka. As you can in the beam comparison images below Zipka offers a much brighter and wider spotlight beam than the BD Ion.

Beam Distance Photos
Beam photo of Petzl Zipka
Beam photo of Black Diamond Ion

Petzl Zipka
Black Diamond Ion

Another alternative worth comparing to, is the Black Diamond Spot, which sells for the same price, only weighs 0.8 oz more (25g), and delivers much stronger lighting performance, for both close proximity and as a spotlight, as can be seen below:

Beam Distance Photos
Beam photo of Petzl Zipka
Beam photo of Black Diamond Spot

Petzl Zipka
Black Diamond Spot

Close Proximity


The Zipka is below average in its flood mode lighting, with a score 4 of 10. While it is perfectly functional, it lacks the wide even lighting of the BD Spot or the ultralight e+LITE.


Photo: Abriah Wofford

Battery Life


You are likely to rely on a light like the Zipka primarily for close-proximity flood lighting, and it offers impressive battery life for that application, much better than the e+LITE, and about the same as the BD Ion,


Photo: Abriah Wofford

Weight


By design, the Zipka is one of the lighter headlamps, although certainly not the lightest.


Ease of Use


The Zipka is quite easy to use and has the same intuitive one button activation as the rest of the Tikka line. However, the string headband makes it hard to use when wearing gloves. In addition, you should be careful if you plan to use this with a climbing helmet. Without a wide elastic headband, the Zipka does not attach as well to helmets. Also, if you're running and bouncing, it's not as easy to get the Zipka really cinched down hard around your head.


Photo: Abriah Wofford

Best Applications


The Zipka is at its best for an application like a 3-5 day backpacking trip, where weight and size matter, but so much as to mandate the most ultralight solutions like the Petzl e+LITE. For a weekend backcountry trip, the Petzl Tikkina or BD Spot might be a better choice, since they weigh only a little bit more, and offer much superior performance as a general purpose light in the long-run.

Photo: Abriah Wofford

Value


In the current headlamp market, $30 is a price that needs to deliver a lot of performance. The Zipka is kind of a special purpose solution, in that it is not the light we'd choose for general-purpose use, which means buying it involves a compromise on performance in the long-run, to gain its lighter weight and smaller size. The beam power and other lighting metrics are just not that impressive for the price of this light.

Photo: Abriah Wofford

Conclusion


It the size and weight of the Zipka meet your needs, then it might be a good solution. But, we see it as straddling two worlds — not light or small enough for the ultralight backpacker, but not offering enough performance to be a good option for general purpose use (and the occasional backpacker, who does shorter trips, might not be so obsessed with weight and size to want to make the Zipka their primary headlamp).

— RJ Spurrier